This course is organized around the testing of two basic hypotheses. The first such hypothesis is that the promise made by the founding fathers in the Preamble to the United States Constitution has not been kept. Instead of a more perfect union that establishes justice, insures domestic tranquility, provides for the common defense, promotes the general welfare and secures the blessings of liberty to ourselves and our posterity, we have a system of government that responds primarily to big money and mega-corporate power and generally serves the ends of special interest groups at the expense of the general welfare. As worrisome is the reality that this troublesome state of affairs likely will continue and even worsen unless something happens to check the undue influence of special interests and steer the nation towards fulfillment of the promise made by the founding fathers.
The other basic hypothesis to be tested is that the potential for corrective action is great and is increasing everyday. That potential lies in the emergence of grass roots political activity the likes of which the founding fathers could never have imagined and the power of which has only recently begun to be appreciated. There are two main reasons for this rise in grass roots political activity. They are, first, an increasingly better educated and well informed populace and, second, the creation and growth of an internet-based communications system that enables citizens to share information and act to express their wishes and will in concerted fashion.
Students enrolled in the course will be asked to engage in a range of learning activities aimed at testing the foregoing hypotheses.